Public Spend Forum and Censeo Announce Launch of IT Procurement Study at Roundtable with Congressman Mike Honda and Recognized IT Experts

Event to be held Friday, February 21 at San Jose City Hall

Washington, D.C., February 18, 2014–Public Spend Forum, a community dedicated to transforming the way the government manages procurement spending, is hosting a roundtable in Silicon Valley titled, “Public Sector IT Procurement Reform: Private Sector Best Practices for Better Outcomes” on Friday, February 21st from 9am -11am at San Jose City Hall.

The roundtable is part of a broader IT procurement study launched by Public Spend Forum and sponsored by Censeo Consulting Group. Congressman Mike Honda (CA-Silicon Valley) will be providing keynote remarks at the roundtable, followed by a panel that includes Raj Sharma, CEO of Censeo Consulting Group and co-founder of Public Spend Forum, Anthony Robbins, VP of Federal for Brocade, Marc Touitou, CIO of the City and County of San Francisco, Greg Tennyson, VSP Global and Former CPO of Oracle and Salesforce, and Mike McNerney, Senior Consultant of Delta Risk. The panel will debate issues related to IT procurement in federal markets and how best practices in the private sector can be applied to improve access to innovators in the marketplace and drive results.

The IT procurement study, titled “Improving the Procurement and Implementation of Large IT Programs in the Public Sector,” is a multi-faceted effort designed to help inform policies and process improvements that can be undertaken by the federal government as well as its private sector partners. Preliminary findings from the study will be released in early March followed by a full report, in late March.

“It’s an honor for me to speak at the first ever Public Spend Forum Panel. The greatest technology advances in American history have come from government and private sector alliances. It is critical for the public sector to use the private sector’s knowledge and expertise to make all of our systems more efficient. I look forward to a robust discussion in which all sides will learn about each other and lay the groundwork for improved future partnerships,” said Congressman Honda.

“I am thrilled to be joined by such a distinguished panel of speakers at our first Public Spend Forum roundtable,” said Mr. Sharma. “Our IT procurement study and roundtables will allow us to bring solutions to inform and improve how billions of dollars of IT spend are managed. Ultimately, this work will help improve the way IT is used to address big public and social problems taken on by government and its partners.”

Public Spend Forum was launched last October and focuses on providing policymakers, procurement professionals and vendors with a dynamic and thoughtful forum for discussion and debate, becoming the premiere global destination for public procurement. Public Spend Forum also offers opportunities for its audience to engage with procurement experts and gain access to valuable content, which provide guidance on best practices from public and private sectors.

To ask questions or follow the conversation during the roundtable, please use #ProcureReform. You can follow Public Spend Forum on Twitter at @PSpendForum.